‘Not a Good News Story When People Are Dying’: Hero Mayor Blasts White House Claim Its Response to Puerto Rico Is a ‘Good News Story’

‘This Is a People Are Dying Story. This Is a Life or Death Story’ Mayor Says, Asking Homeland Security Chief to ‘Come Down Here and Visit the Towns’

While the Democratic governor of Puerto Rico has been playing politics by praising the White House out of fear for telling the American people the whole truth about how the Trump administration is failing his people, the Democratic mayor of San Juan is calling it as she sees it. And she’s seeing people dying in part because of the poor response from the Trump White House.

Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz has been on the news networks begging for help, giving a real-world accounting of the crisis, not just in the capital city that she runs, but detailing the problems people in villages that are cut off from larger population areas are facing. And she should know what’s happening: early on, she personally went door to door rescuing people. She’s been working with FEMA and other federal officials and says that while they are “good people” and want to do the right thing, they have been handcuffed by red tape and an insistence from upper echelons that they first spend time assessing the problems. 

And there are many problems, worsened by the lack of leadership and logistics from the federal government.

While President Trump has been patting himself and his underlings on the back for what he says is a great job, privately, some officials have admitted the White House wasted time responding to what they knew would be total devastation, even before Hurricane Maria hit.

On Thursday, acting Homeland Security head Elaine Duke, taking the lead from President Trump, told reporters she is “very satisfied” with the federal government’s response to Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico.

“I am very satisfied,” Duke said. “I know it’s a hard storm to recover from but the amount of progress that’s been made, and I really would appreciate any support that we get. I know it is really a good news story in terms of our ability to reach people and the limited number of deaths that have taken place in such a devastating hurricane.”

Let’s do that again: “I know it is really a good news story.”

San Juan’s Mayor Yulín Cruz wasn’t having it.

“Well, maybe from where she’s standing it’s a good news story,” Cruz, shocked, told CNN Friday, as Raw Story reports. “When you are drinking from a creek, it’s not a good news story. When you don’t have food for a baby, it’s not a good news story,” the mayor, growing increasingly frustrated and upset, told Alisyn Camerota. “When you have to pull people down from their buildings — I’m sorry, but that really upsets me and frustrates me.”

“I would ask her to come down here and visit the towns,” she continued, saying, “frankly it’s an irresponsible statement and contrasts with the statements of support that I have been getting since yesterday when I got that call from the White House. This is — dammit, this is not a good news story. This is a people are dying story. This is a life or death story. This is — there’s a truck load of stuff that cannot be taken to people story. This is a story of a devastation that continues to worsen because people are not getting food and water.”

“If I could scream it a lot more louder,” Mayor Yulín Cruz added. “It is not a good news story when people are dying,” she continued, holding back tears, “when they don’t have dialysis, when their generators aren’t working and their oxygen is not providing for them. Where is there good news here?”

“The good news is we are getting heard. The good news is that there’s boots on the ground. The good news is people from FEMA have their heart in the right place and the HHS people know what to do,” Cruz conceded. “For Heaven’s sakes, somebody let them do their job. Let them get the food and the water in hands of the people, and then talk about good news. I’m really sorry – when you have people out there dying literally scraping for food, where is the good news?”

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